Gender differences in education Flashcards
Stats showing differences in girls and boys achievements:
- 46.8% girls A-B grades at ALevel, 42.2% boys
- Larger proportion of girls achieve distinctions in vocational courses
How does feminism impact achievement? (external)
- challenged stereotypes of women being solely housewifes & inferior to men
- changes in the media raised expectations (Mcrobbie) magazines containing independent women
How do changes in the family impact achievement? (external)
- increase in divorce rate, dont have to rely on men
- increase in lone parent families women take on breadwinner role, new role model (need qualifications)
How do changes in womens employment impact achievement? (external)
- 1970 equal pay act, illegal to pay women less than men for work of equal value
- 1975 sex discrimination act
- proportion in womens employment, 1971 53% to 67% in 2013
How has girls changing ambitions impact achievement? (external)
Sharpe
-1974 girls, low aspirations, success= unfeminine, priorities: marriage, children before jobs
- 1990 girls, see their future as independent women and changed priorities
- individualisation, need a good education to be self sufficient
How does class influence gender and achievement?
Reay
- Limited aspirations reflect limited job opportunities WC have available to them
Biggart
- See motherhood as the only viable option
How do equal opportunity policies impact achievement (internal)?
- GIST, girls in science and technology encourage girls to pursue different careers
- Female scientists visiting schools acting as role models
How do positive role models impact achievement (internal)?
- increase in female teachers and heads, act as role models, can achieve important positions
- to become a teacher, need to be educated
How do ways of assessment favour girls?
Mitsos + Browne, girls more successful in coursework than boys, more organised,
- meet deadlines and bring the right materials
How does teacher attention differ between genders?
- Francis, boys got more attention but disciplined harshly.
- Swann, boys dominate class discussions
- teachers respond more positively to girls
How do curriculum stereotypes affect achievement?
- removing gender stereotypes in curriculum, removed barrier of achievement (Weiner)
- e.g women housewives/ mothers and frightened of science
How do league tables favour girls?
- Jackson, improved opportunities for girls as they are more attractive to schools (self fulfilling prophecy)
How do liberal and radical feminists view achievement?
Liberal- celebrate progress made so far, more to be made through policies
Radical- education system is still patriarchal, male dominated
What is symbolic capital, Archer et al?
- Status and sense of worth obtained from others.
- feminine identities to gain this, however can’t acquire educational capital
Explain hyper-heterosexual feminine identities:
- spend time and effort into desirable identities
- bring status and avoid ridicule from others
- teachers viewed as distraction from education
- denied symbolic capital, symbolic violence
Explain how boyfriends affect achievement:
- in the way of schoolwork, lowered aspirations
- lose interest in uni, settle down & have children
What is the WC girls dilemma?
- gaining symbolic capital from peers by hyper-heterosexual feminine identity
- or gaining educational capital by conforming to the schools ideal pupil
Successful WC girls, Evans
- go to university to increase earnings and give back to family
- caring is a crucial part of girls identity
- live at home to save costs of uni, however limited options
Boys and literacy
- parents spend less time reading to their sons, feminine activity (mothers do this)
- football doesn’t develop language/ communication skills unlike girls ‘bedroom culture’
Globalisation and decline of traditional men’s jobs:
- decline in mining and engineering, in china, cheap
- decline in opportunities, identity crisis. Little motivation and prospects, give up trying to get qualifications
- however manual jobs still require some qualifications
How does feminisation of education impact achievement?
- schools don’t nurture masculine traits,(competitiveness) celebrate feminine (attentiveness)
- Sewell, coursework causes differences
Lack of male primary school teachers:
- 14% of primary school teachers are male
- 42% boys said this makes them work harder, strict discipline
- Francis, 2/3 of 7-8 years said gender of teachers doesn’t matter
Moral panic of boys, Ringrose:
- policies which promote girls no longer needed
- underachieving boys will be unemployable, threatening social stability
- girls disengagement is more quiet than boys who attract attention
Laddish subcultures, Epstein:
- WC boys harassed and labelled sissies/gay, verbal abuse if they are ‘swots’
- Schoolwork is seen as inferior to tough manual work.
What subjects do girls and boys choose, A levels/ courses
- Boys choosing maths and physics- (20% girls)
- girls choosing sociology and english
- is GIST effective?
- 1/100 childcare apprentices are boys
How do gender subject images affect choice?
Kelly
- science, boys: teachers are men, examples on boys interests
Colley
- working with machines, teaching style off putting to females
Leonard
- single sex schools hold less stereotypes. In girls schools, girls more likely to take maths, boys in boys schools, english
How does gender role socialisation explain subject choice, Bryne
- teachers encourage boys to be tough. girls to be quiet, tidy
- Brown & Ross, children’s beliefs about gender domains shaped from early experiences
- tasks & activities e.g boys playing cars, girls being maternal
How does peer pressure and career opportunities affect subject choice?
Paechter- pressure
- girls view sport as in the male domain, cope with an image contradicting conventional stereotype
- career opportunities, women have a narrow range of opportunities: childcare + nursing roles. impacting choice
How do double standards and male peer groups impact gender identity?
Lees
- Boys boast about sexual behaviour but call girls ‘slags’ if she is presumed available
- devalues women through negative labels
Willis
- anti-school boys accuse boys who want to succeed as gay
- success ‘without trying’
How does verbal abuse and the male gaze affect identity? (Parker)
- boys labelled gay for being friendly with girls or female teachers
- Mac an Ghaill, male gaze, look at girls as sexual objects. prove their masculinity
How do female peer groups affect identity?
Ringrose
- WC girls, popularity was a part of their identity
- idealised feminine identity= loyalty to female peer group
- sexualised identity= competing for boys in dating culture
Currie et al
- girls who compete, slut shamed
- girls who don’t compete, frigid
How do teachers and discipline reinforce gender identity?
- Mac an Ghaill, told boys off for behaving ‘like girls’
- teased when getting lower test marks than girls
